The present invention pertains to an abrasive pad and a method for abrading glass, ceramic, and metal materials.
Conventional abrasive pads include, for example, an abrading component as described in PCT Application No. 2002-542057. The abrading component thereof is configured as provided with a backing material having an abrasive material on one surface. The shape of the abrasive material may, for example, be a cube, a block form, cylindrical, rectangular, or the like. Moreover, with an abrading component described in the specification of U.S. Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. US 2011/0053460, a conical protrusion is formed on a base portion of an abrasive layer formed of an abrasive material. An object of this protrusion is to simplify the initial dressing (an operation performed to obtain a flat abrasive surface), and to determine when the dressing is complete (when the abrasive surface has become flat). By shaving away the protrusion through dressing to create flatness, a base portion having uniform abrasive material can be used to implement abrading.
When abrading wire-reinforced glass, heat-resistant glass, or another glass substrate for industrial use, or when abrading a large substrate containing a ceramic or metal material, extending the useful life of an abrasive pad is essential. A conceivable measure to extend the useful life of an abrasive pad is to increase the height of the protrusion portion of the abrasive layer to increase the volume. However, when the height of the protrusion portion is simply increased, in some cases the protrusion portion can easily collapse. Therefore, connecting the root portion of the protrusion portion at the abrasive material layer is also conceivable. However, with this configuration as well, countermeasures are necessary to deal with a decrease in the flatness of the abrasive layer due to contraction when resin is light cured, and with a decrease in flexibility due to the integration of the abrasive layer.